BILL NUMBER: SB 340	CHAPTERED  10/10/99

	CHAPTER   786
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   OCTOBER 10, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   OCTOBER 7, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 31, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 26, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 16, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JULY 2, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 15, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Baca

                        FEBRUARY 9, 1999

   An act to amend Sections 25658, 25658.1, and 25658.4 of the
Business and Professions Code, relating to alcoholic beverages.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 340, Baca.  Alcoholic beverages:  minors:  license revocations:
  off-sale licensees:  applications and acknowledgment.
   The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act prohibits the sale of alcoholic
beverages to, or the purchase of alcoholic beverages by, persons
under the age of 21 years, and imposes penalties in that regard, but
permits minors to be used as decoys in the enforcement of these
provisions.  Existing law requires that, after the completion of each
minor decoy program, the law enforcement agency using the decoy
shall notify licensees of the results of the program.
   This bill would require the notification to be given to the
licensees within 72 hours.
   Under existing law, the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
may revoke a license for a 3rd violation of provisions relating to
selling alcoholic beverages to minors within any 36-month period.
   This bill would provide that no violation of these provisions may
be considered unless it has become final.
   The Alcoholic Beverage Control Act prohibits a clerk from making a
sale of alcoholic beverages unless the clerk executes, under penalty
of perjury, on the first day he or she makes that sale, an
application and acknowledgment, on a form prepared by the department,
that includes at a minimum a summary of certain requirements and
prohibitions in the act, as specified.
   The bill would permit nonprofit organizations and licensees to
obtain videotapes and other training materials on the Licensee
Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) program, as specified.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 25658 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   25658.  (a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (c), every
person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to be sold, furnished,
or given away, any alcoholic beverage to any person under the age of
21 years is guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (b) Any person under the age of 21 years who purchases any
alcoholic beverage, or any person under the age of 21 years who
consumes any alcoholic beverage in any on-sale premises, is guilty of
a misdemeanor.
   (c) Any person who violates subdivision (a) by purchasing an
alcoholic beverage for a person under the age of 21 years and the
person under the age of 21 years thereafter consumes the alcohol and
thereby proximately causes great bodily injury or death to himself,
herself, or any other person, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (d) Any on-sale licensee who knowingly permits a person under the
age of 21 years to consume any alcoholic beverage in the on-sale
premises, whether or not the licensee has knowledge that the person
is under the age of 21 years, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
   (e) (1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (2) or (3), any
person who violates this section shall be punished by a fine of two
hundred fifty dollars ($250), no part of which shall be suspended, or
the person shall be required to perform not less than 24 hours or
more than 32 hours of community service during hours when the person
is not employed and is not attending school, or a combination of fine
and community service as determined by the court.
   (2) Any person who violates subdivision (a) by furnishing an
alcoholic beverage, or causing an alcoholic beverage to be furnished,
to a minor shall be punished by a fine of one thousand dollars
($1,000), no part of which shall be suspended, and the person shall
be required to perform not less than 24 hours of community service
during hours when the person is not employed and is not attending
school.
   (3) Any person who violates subdivision (c) shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail for a minimum term of six months not to
exceed one year, by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars
($1,000), or by both imprisonment and fine.
   (f) Persons under the age of 21 years may be used by peace
officers in the enforcement of this section to apprehend licensees,
or employees or agents of licensees, who sell alcoholic beverages to
minors.  Notwithstanding subdivision (b), any person under the age of
21 years who purchases or attempts to purchase any alcoholic
beverage while under the direction of a peace officer is immune from
prosecution for that purchase or attempt to purchase an alcoholic
beverage.  Guidelines with respect to the use of persons under the
age of 21 years as decoys shall be adopted and published by the
department in accordance with the rulemaking portion of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
Law enforcement-initiated minor decoy programs in operation prior to
the effective date of regulatory guidelines adopted by the department
shall be authorized as long as the minor decoy displays to the
seller of alcoholic beverages the appearance of a person under the
age of 21 years.  This subdivision shall not be construed to prevent
the department from taking disciplinary action against a licensee who
sells alcoholic beverages to a minor decoy prior to the department's
final adoption of regulatory guidelines.  After the completion of
every minor decoy program performed under this subdivision, the law
enforcement agency using the decoy shall notify licensees within 72
hours of the results of the program.  When the use of a minor decoy
results in the issuance of a citation, the notification required
shall be given within 72 hours of the issuance of the citation.  A
law enforcement agency may comply with this requirement by leaving a
written notice at the licensed premises addressed to the licensee, or
by mailing a notice addressed to the licensee.
  SEC. 2.  Section 25658.1 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   25658.1.  (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
division, no licensee may petition the department for an offer in
compromise pursuant to Section 23095 for a second or any subsequent
violation of Section 25658 that occurs within 36 months of the
initial violation.
   (b) Notwithstanding Section 24200, the department may revoke a
license for a third violation of Section 25658 that occurs within any
36-month period.  This provision shall not be construed to limit the
department's authority and discretion to revoke a license prior to a
third violation when the circumstances warrant that penalty.
   (c) For purposes of this section, no violation may be considered
for purposes of determination of the penalty until it has become
final.
  SEC. 3.  Section 25658.4 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
   25658.4.  (a) On and after January 1, 1992, no clerk shall make an
off sale of alcoholic beverages unless the clerk executes under
penalty of perjury on the first day he or she makes that sale an
application and acknowledgment.  The application and acknowledgment
shall be in a form understandable to the clerk.
   (1) The department shall specify the form of the application and
acknowledgment which shall include at a minimum a summary of this
division pertaining to the following:
   (A) The prohibitions contained in Sections 25658 and 25658.5
pertaining to the sale to, and purchase of, alcoholic beverages by
persons under 21 years of age.
   (B) Bona fide evidence of majority as provided in Section 25660.
   (C) Hours of operation as provided in Article 2 (commencing with
Section 25630) of Chapter 16.
   (D) The prohibitions contained in subdivision (a) of Section 25602
and Section 25602.1 pertaining to sales to an intoxicated person.
   (E) Sections 23393 and 23394 as they pertain to on-premises
consumption of alcoholic beverages in an off-sale premises.
   (F) The requirements and prohibitions contained in Section 25659.5
pertaining to sales of keg beer for consumption off licensed
premises.
   (2) The application and acknowledgment shall also include a
statement that the clerk has read and understands the summary, a
statement that the clerk has never been convicted of violating this
division or, if convicted, an explanation of the circumstances of
each conviction, and a statement that the application and
acknowledgment is executed under penalty of perjury.
   (3) The licensee shall keep the executed application and
acknowledgment on the premises at all times and available for
inspection by the department.  A licensee with more than one licensed
off-sale premises in the state may comply with this subdivision by
maintaining an executed application and acknowledgment at a
designated licensed premises, regional office, or headquarters office
in the state.  An executed application and acknowledgment maintained
at the designated locations shall be valid for all licensed off-sale
premises owned by the licensee.  Any licensee maintaining an
application and acknowledgment at a designated site other than the
individual licensed off-sale premises shall notify the department in
advance and in writing of the site where the application and
acknowledgment shall be maintained and available for inspection.  A
licensee electing to maintain application and acknowledgments at a
designated site other than the licensed premises shall maintain at
each licensed premises a notice of where the executed application and
acknowledgments are located.  Any licensee with more than one
licensed off-sale premises who elects to maintain the application and
acknowledgments at a designated site other than each licensed
premises shall provide the department, upon written demand, a copy of
any employee's executed application and acknowledgment within 10
business days.  A violation of this subdivision by a licensee
constitutes grounds for discipline by the department.
   (b) On and after January 1, 1992, the licensee shall post a notice
that contains and describes, in concise terms, prohibited sales of
alcoholic beverages, a statement that the off-sale seller will refuse
to make a sale if the seller reasonably suspects that the Alcoholic
Beverage Control Act may be violated, and a statement that a minor
who purchases or attempts to purchase alcoholic beverages is subject
to suspension or delay in the issuance of his or her driver's license
pursuant to Section 13202.5 of the Vehicle Code.  The notice shall
be posted at an entrance or at a point of sale in the licensed
premises or in any other location that is visible to purchasers of
alcoholic beverages and to the off-sale seller.
   (c) On and after January 1, 1998, a retail licensee shall post a
notice that contains and describes, in concise terms, the fines and
penalties for any violation of Section 25658, relating to the sale of
alcoholic beverages to, or the purchase of alcoholic beverages by,
any person under the age of 21 years.
   (d) Nonprofit organizations or licensees may obtain videotapes and
other training materials from the department on the Licensee
Education on Alcohol and Drugs (LEAD) program.  The videotapes and
training materials may be updated periodically and may be provided in
English and other languages, and when made available by the
department, shall be provided at cost.
   (e) As used in this section:
   (1) "Off-sale seller" means any person holding a retail off-sale
license issued by the department and any person employed by that
licensee who in the course of that employment sells alcoholic
beverages.
   (2) "Clerk" means an off-sale seller who is not a licensee.
   (f) The department may adopt rules and appropriate fees for
licensees that it determines necessary for the administration of this
section.
